Griswold Ambulance Company up for sale

GRISWOLD — After years of wrangling with the town to secure adequate operating funds, the Griswold Ambulance Company is up for sale.

On Oct. 2, the company was listed for sale with Holdsworth, Pelton & Associates in Cromwell. The opening bid is $350,000.

Griswold Ambulance Company President William Czmyr said they had no choice.

“With no funding from the town (we) can’t operate,” he said.

Until three and one-half years ago, the town gave the ambulance company $90,000 annually. At that time the amount was dropped to $20,000 a year – which only covers Worker’s compensation, Czmyr said.

Since then the ambulance company, owned by the American Legion and also known as the American Legion Community Ambulance, has been operating on donations and service fees. They also replaced an ambulance with donations.

Czmyr said 42 percent of the requests for service are Medicare calls — billed at about $238 per transport as compared to $550 for insurance and private payers — and it’s not enough to sustain the service, he said.

“We need $158,000 for basic ambulance service, that doesn’t include raises,” he said.

Griswold Ambulance responds to 1,100 calls a year and responds with mutual aid to neighboring communities. It employees 28 people, two permanently and the rest per-diem.

Five years ago the ambulance service offered the town a contract.

Last year they tried again and as of the Sept. 3 Board of Selectmen, the town offered $90,000 — “take it or leave it,” according to Czmyr.

First Selectman Philip Anthony did not return calls on Wednesday for comment.

Shortly after that meeting, the decision to sell it was made, Czmyr said.

Griswold Ambulance has been in operation since 1941 and along with serving Griswold and Jewett City provides mutual aid to Lisbon, Voluntown and Plainfield.

American Ambulance, which serves 22 communities, has expressed an interest in providing service to the town, but Gregory Allard, vice president of the company, said they are not interested in purchasing the ambulance company.

“For what they are asking and what you are getting, we aren’t interested in that,” Allard said.

Allard said American Ambulance also, within the last year, made an offer to purchase all the equipment from Griswold Ambulance and keep on all of the staff that met their hiring standards.

Czmyr acknowledged the communication, but said there was no dollar figure attached and he didn’t consider it an offer.

In an e-mail communication with Anthony dating back to May 2, Allard said American could provide one ambulance to the town, with basic life support services, for $50,000 annually. Allard confirmed that figure Wednesday, but said there were no negotiations under way.

“We want to see how they would like to proceed,” Allard said, adding that in response to concerns by the Department of Public Health, American would be available — in the event of a lapse in service — at no charge to the town and for a limited period of time.

American serves 22 communities and provides mutual aid to an expanded area, including 40 percent of the calls in Griswold in Jewett City.

“Sometimes we go in and we are the transport because they don’t have the people,” Allard said.

Griswold resident Stacey Philips said she thinks allowing Griswold Ambulance to go out of business is a mistake. She has concerns about having an outside provider that covers other towns as well being responsible for Griswold.

“If there’s something else going on, who’s going to get there,” she said

The town of Griswold was also offered the opportunity to bid on the ambulance company.

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